Solar Energy News

Massachusetts Announces Commonwealth Solar Program

December 18, 2007: Massachusetts Announces Commonwealth Solar Program: The Massachusetts Division of Energy Resources announced the state's new Commonwealth Solar program designed to encourage the use of solar photovoltaic (PV) power by offering rebates that reduce the cost of solar panels and installation. The new program, which makes use of existing renewable energy funds, is expected to result in the installation of more than 27 megawatts of solar power capacity over the next four years.

Under Commonwealth Solar, businesses and residences that install PV systems from 2008-2012 will be eligible for rebates averaging $3 per watt at the start of the program. Rebates will be higher for installation of Massachusetts-manufactured solar panels, and they will decline with the size of the installation. [READ MORE (pdf)]yosemite.epa.gov, mass.gov/doer/

Call to Action with Solar Cookers

July 17 2006: "Never again" - Call to Conscience Sparks partnership with Solar Cookers International and KoZon: Rabbi Schulweis, Valley Beth Shalom challenged his congregation to honor the promise made following the holocaust -- that "Never Again" would we be silent in the face of genocide. . . and Jewish World Watch was established in 2004. Hoping to help the women & girls in the Darfur refugees camps -- who are often raped as they go hunting for firewood to heat the food donated by relief organizations -- returning to the camps beaten, bloody and shamed -- the JWW has begun raising money to provide solar cookers for a 20,000-person camp.

The cooker project is meant to see to it that women no longer have to forage for wood and make themselves vulnerable to attack. JWW is working in partnership with Solar Cookers International and KoZon ("cooking with the sun") and their Iridimi refugee camp project in Chad in collaboration with CARE International.jewishworldwatch.org, solarcookers.org

June 21 2006: Palo Alto, California: Nanosolar Inc., a global leader in solar power innovation, today announced that it now has $100 million in funding to take its breakthrough photovoltaic (PV) solar electricity technology into volume production.

"This will allow us to further expand our leadership position in solar power innovation," said Martin Roscheisen, CEO of Nanosolar Inc. "We are looking forward to working with our new investors and partners, who have very successful track records in clean energy, to lead the industry on a path of rapidly more cost-efficient solar electricity."

"Coal-fired power plants are one of the biggest drivers of global warming," added Jeff Skoll, Capricorn Management. "As we shift towards a future where the risks of global warming are recognized as both unsustainable and immoral, a company like Nanosolar can help us keep power affordable." [READ MORE]Nanosolar Inc, Press Release